<p><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/honduras-bans-open-pit-mining-citing-environmental-and-public-health-concerns/">Mongabay</a> reported that officials in Honduras are cracking down on open-pit mining, an activity that has plagued the country with deforestation, pollution and loss of biodiversity, among other environmental hazards and that the government is no longer granting environmental permits for open-pit mining projects. The Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines also plans to shut down open-pit mines already in operation but it didn’t provide a timeline for these actions or cite the legal authority it has to cancel operations already underway.</p> <p>Currently, there are 217 mining concessions and reserves in the country, covering 131,515 hectares (324,981 acres), according to the Social Forum on Foreign Debt and Development of Honduras (FOSDEH). In 2020, more than 130 of them were near or inside Indigenous territory.</p> <p>Open-pit mining, one of the most common forms of mining, involves extracting minerals by digging a large hole or pit in the ground. It can be disastrous for local ecosystems, as it requires clearing vegetation and displacing massive amounts of soil. The chemicals used in the mines, such as sulfuric acid and ammonium nitrate, can end up poisoning aquatic life in local water bodies. Even after mines are closed, there are often risks of erosion and soil contamination, making it difficult for biodiversity, forest cover and water quality to recover.</p> <p>The new measure means Honduras joins El Salvador and Costa Rica as the only countries that have banned open-pit mining in Central America.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/honduras-bans-open-pit-mining-citing-environmental-and-public-health-concerns/">Mongabay</a> reported that officials in Honduras are cracking down on open-pit mining, an activity that has plagued the country with deforestation, pollution and loss of biodiversity, among other environmental hazards and that the government is no longer granting environmental permits for open-pit mining projects. The Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines also plans to shut down open-pit mines already in operation but it didn’t provide a timeline for these actions or cite the legal authority it has to cancel operations already underway.</p> <p>Currently, there are 217 mining concessions and reserves in the country, covering 131,515 hectares (324,981 acres), according to the Social Forum on Foreign Debt and Development of Honduras (FOSDEH). In 2020, more than 130 of them were near or inside Indigenous territory.</p> <p>Open-pit mining, one of the most common forms of mining, involves extracting minerals by digging a large hole or pit in the ground. It can be disastrous for local ecosystems, as it requires clearing vegetation and displacing massive amounts of soil. The chemicals used in the mines, such as sulfuric acid and ammonium nitrate, can end up poisoning aquatic life in local water bodies. Even after mines are closed, there are often risks of erosion and soil contamination, making it difficult for biodiversity, forest cover and water quality to recover.</p> <p>The new measure means Honduras joins El Salvador and Costa Rica as the only countries that have banned open-pit mining in Central America.</p>
